Palisades Figs - advice needed!!!

I just got my Palisades figures (Kermit, Piggy, Exclusive Piggy, Bunsen and Dr. Teeth). I can't believe how beautifully they look, bla blah blah, however - I am WAAAAY too afraid of playing with them!!! (and I was afraid of that.) Which I think is a serious flaw, especially since it's harder for me to get these figures, let alone replacing them.

I have a few questions which I hope the fans (and possibly Ken) can help me with...

1) Exclusive Piggy's left glove (the one without the hinge) can't rotate. Correct or not? (someone broke that arm, I seem to remember)

2) Both Piggy figures' arms can't rotate, they just go up and down. Correct or not?

3) Both Piggy figures' waists can't rotate. Correct or not?

4) What direction is Kermit supposed to lean in a few days? (I can't believe I have to ask this question!) My Kermit looks like his 'nose' is gonna reach the floor in two days, but I also heard people say he will fall backwards... which one is it?

5) My Robot Rabbit's left arm won't rotate. Any tips on how to help this, without attempting to break it? I know a knife makes it worse, and trying to loosen it with a piece of the package plastic doesn't work either... Maybe a useful tip for Ken: next time, don't make these figures so freaking fragile!! Robin, Rizzo, Janice and Animal look like quite potential 'breakers'...

Again, I hope people can help me, and I hope that I won't have to ask these questions when series 2 arrives... I'm more in favor of not broken figures than many articulation points, let me tell you!

One of the problems with figures like these are paints sticking, especially in summer. even some of the Star Wars figures I opened this weekend had sticking joints that I had to "work" a bit to get to function. It's the nature of paint on PVC to PVC mushroom pin joints. My advice? If you have a joint that is sticking, put the figure in the freezer for a half an hour. Take it out, work the joints. Once you move a paint stuck joint once it should work fine from then out. On to your specifics...

1) Exclusive Piggy's left glove (the one without the hinge) can't rotate. Correct or not? (someone broke that arm, I seem to remember)

Yes both gloves are swivel joints. They should both rotate. Someone did break theirs, and discussed it on another forum. Possibly here too.

2) Both Piggy figures' arms can't rotate, they just go up and down. Correct or not?

Piggy has ball jointed shoulders that should go up and down and front to back, in a ball joint type movement.

3) Both Piggy figures' waists can't rotate. Correct or not?

Both figures waists do rotate. Of all the sticks, that seems to be the one that sticks the most. Grab the torso, grab the pelvis, turn hard. It should not break but you will have to use some force on that. It's ABS into ABS...those are strong plastics...but the PVC skirt, with the paint, sticks on some of them.

4) What direction is Kermit supposed to lean in a few days? (I can't believe I have to ask this question!) My Kermit looks like his 'nose' is gonna reach the floor in two days, but I also heard people say he will fall backwards... which one is it?

Some have been reporting that his legs are so thin that he starts to bend. One person stated this who kept him on top of his computer. That's a result of the heat. I have three on display in various locations and none are bending.

5) My Robot Rabbit's left arm won't rotate. Any tips on how to help this, without attempting to break it? I know a knife makes it worse, and trying to loosen it with a piece of the package plastic doesn't work either... Maybe a useful tip for Ken: next time, don't make these figures so freaking fragile!! Robin, Rizzo, Janice and Animal look like quite potential 'breakers'...

Thanks for the useful tip...some things I can control, some things I can't. But you're right...those figures you mentioned will be real challenges, which is why I keep wanting to get people on board with the idea of Rizzo a bit larger than true scale.

If someting breaks on your figure or if you are disatisifed, you do have the option of a refund or an exchange.

Thanks a lot for the tips, Ken! With some smooth yet strong movements and a screwdriver, I managed to get the arms and waists of both Piggies loose.
Not as in "I broke them off", but "I got them to move freely."
Judging by the looks on their faces, I think they rather liked the massage...

My Kermit is standing with both feet on the pegs on the base. I have no problems with him. He has been on display for a couple weeks now and is not leaning or bending in any direction. I do not have him in a spot that gets a lot of heat (not near computers or a window), so that may be one reason he is in fine shape.

I did nothing more with my Kermit figure than to stick his coffee cup into his hand and place him on the base (on a shelf, away from anything hot), and he's leaned so far over, it looks like he's going to dive off the edge. Just kind of trying to accept it as they way things go.

My Kermit bends way forward too, it looks like he's a hunchback. And I know it's not becuz of heat, I have central air and my house is always nice and kool. I kind of fixed him though by holding his legs, and GENTLY bending him back by the head, until he's practically bent over backwards, and I feel like I can't bend him back anymore without breaking him. This seems to keep him standing fairly normally, and I just repeat this every couple days when he starts to lean forward again.

This SHOULD help you prevent your Kermie from future scholiosis problems.

Some people have this problem, and some people don't If this happens to me when I get him, I'll just let him sniff the floor for a little while, then take him off his base and sit him down util I come up with a solution.

I'm happy to report that I haven't had any problems with my figures. They're all posing on their stands, with their respective props nearby or in-hand.

Kermit leans slightly forward, but not in a defective kind of way. To me, it just looks like Kermit looks. His head always kind of stuck out further than his body, giving him a slightly hunched/slouched look, probably because of the way Henson had to hold him to perform him.

Basically, I'm saying Kermit never HAS been an upright individual, in the literal sense. I wonder how many complaints are just a result of the way Kermit SHOULD look...

Yeah, I guess it's just bad luck for some folks out there! Personally, really good toys will break if you don't watch out. Sometimes something weird will happen to them. It's not like one of those unbreakable weebles. I hate those kinds of kiddy toys!